mcmc Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 I am thinking maybe of getting a tv and I am not sure as to which brands are good ones and which are not so good.
mcmc Posted November 10, 2007 Author Posted November 10, 2007 between say a Polaroid and Samsung which brand would be better?
elena_398 Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 Samsung out of that choice. My parents get the consumer reports magazine and only going by LCD tvs, Sony came in first. I believe Samsung came in the top 5 though.
mcmc Posted November 10, 2007 Author Posted November 10, 2007 thanks I just know that our claims lady said they get alot of tv's back as returns especially the big ones. I am thinking 32 inch. So I have been reading some of the reviews over at wal-mart.com. Ya know it is just so hard to say. Cause in the store they can run great in Electronics but ya don't know how they will run at home. I have always liked the Polaroid one at the store but it sure does not have good reviews. Maybe it is because that one has a build in dvd though. I don't think I would want one with that built in. Last year wal-mart had the 32 inch Sanyo in the ad I remember I thought about getting it last year. My daughter didn't like it cause it was black. I thought it looked nice. That one seems to have good ratings. Ya know I just can't decide if I want to get a new tv now or wait a year or so. Our city just went to digital cable and will be getting the HDTV and people who bought an hdtv still had to get a box for the it to work.
MandaJo111 Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 Mom just had to fight with WalMart to get a replacement. They got a Samsung and it started going out on them. It would take 10-20 minutes to "warm up" and turn on. They made countless service calls and Walmart would make the appointment, but they live in a smaller town and the nearest places for repairs would not come out to fix it. It took several months, but WalMart finally had a new one delivered -- a nicer model and so far they like it.
mcmc Posted November 10, 2007 Author Posted November 10, 2007 did she have the extended warranty?? I got my daughter the laptop last year the hp one and I bought the extended warranty. Her hard drive went out. Boy were they fast at getting it fixed. Hp sent us a box and sent fed ex to pick it up within a week we had it back. I highly recomment people get that extended warranty its worth it.
Mikesgirl Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 I got the 32 inch RCA earlier in the year and i love mine.
mcmc Posted November 10, 2007 Author Posted November 10, 2007 Right now I have two just plain tv's and they are both Magnavox tv's have never had a problem with either of them and one is like over ten years old. There are some Magnavox tv''s that look nice also and the Philips. I think Philips makes Magnavox actually.
elena_398 Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 Im leaning towards this Vizio at Sears. I went to 6 different sites including that CNET that does reviews. It all got higher reviews for a more inexpensive tv. And thats all I need. A basic LCD tv for my bedroom. 37" Vizio seems to have good reviews. Im hoping I can score a better price for it at Sears tomorrow night and the Friends and Family night
mcmc Posted November 10, 2007 Author Posted November 10, 2007 see this one here is the one I have always liked the looks of in the store and its a philips http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5633680 it has good reviews also.
elena_398 Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 Does everyone agree that you SHOULD buy an extended plan for any tv you buy? I've always had bad luck when buying an extended plan on items. Im going to sears tomorrow night while my husband is at work so Im surprising him with a tv Im hoping to buy. Want to be prepared!
mcmc Posted November 10, 2007 Author Posted November 10, 2007 the warranty at wal-mart anyway they pay for the shipping of it to get fixed and back to you and they have this thing called a lemon clause where if you have to send it back like twice I think it is then you get a new one. I didn't think the plan which is for two years was that bad really in price even. I was sure glad that I had it. I would ask what kind of warranty it is though.
MandaJo111 Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 did she have the extended warranty?? I got my daughter the laptop last year the hp one and I bought the extended warranty. Her hard drive went out. Boy were they fast at getting it fixed. Hp sent us a box and sent fed ex to pick it up within a week we had it back. I highly recomment people get that extended warranty its worth it.Yes she did get the 2 year extended warranty. It was still under it...that is why they were going to send someone out to fix it, but after all of the hassle and months of phone calls and unkept appointments, they finally got a brand new one yesterday. I do highly recommend the warranty though. Mom's main reason for problems is that she lived in a smaller town with no one who works on LCD TVs and the nearest ones were too far away. In the end she got a TV that retails for about $300-400 more than what she paid.
showtieraw Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 If I had to guess, these would be 5 brands to consider: Sony (hands down the leader in rear projection TV's, and the Bravia is a top of the line LCD) Panasonic (their plasma's are probably the best value brand on the market) Sharp (Aquos LCD, Circuity City has a 46 inch 1080 for 1300 this year . . nice picture) Samsung (they make EVERYTHING, and really a solid value all around) LG (solid brand) IMO those probably are the top 5 brands to look for in TV's this holiday season. Some quality cheaper brands to consider would be Vizio, Olevia and Westinghouse.
elena_398 Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 The salesman I talked to in Sears said he would stay away from the Olevia brand as thats the brand he has the most trouble with. He was really honest and told me Vizio is good/not great, but good for the price. I guess he said since the past year they have had to his knowledge 7 come back with the same problems. Picture problems and buzzing sounds. Whatever that means
emptynest-2 Posted November 11, 2007 Posted November 11, 2007 Definately purchase the extended warranty on any of the new lcd, lcd flat panels, dlps or plasma tvs. If I am not mistaken Vizio is a Samsung unit, Polaroids trouble getting parts, Ilo no parts available, and I trying to remember who made Olevia not sure but is no a good brand.
sean.p.townsend Posted November 12, 2007 Posted November 12, 2007 I used to install High Def TV's in college.. high end stuff to pro sports players etc. Vizio is the best of the "cheap" TV's, they had a lot to do with orginal plasma TVs but didn't have the money to make them, sold the technology. They have been getting better and better every year. BUT.. you get what you pay for... If you want it to last more then 5 years put the money into a better brand... Some brands do better then others in certain areas... IE fujitsu in plasmas but over all you cant go wrong with a Panasonic, Mitsubishi. Toshshiba, Sony and Samsung make great stuff.. but they make some cheaper version TV's for some stores. You might see a 42 inch in 2 different stores that are two totally different TVs.. so make sure you compare apples to apples. Also Vizio is made by V Inc, no relation to samsung.. they are actually cut throat competitors. Olevia often uses LG and Philips parts in their TVs
PerkynPunctual Posted November 12, 2007 Posted November 12, 2007 Our Sony's have been worth every penny.
aacwks Posted November 12, 2007 Posted November 12, 2007 I worked in electronics at a WM for about 2 years. I recommend staying away from the tv's made by Funai Electronics. Those tv's are the ones we had returned the most often. Magnavox used to be good when it was owned/made by RCA/Thompson Electronics, but now it is a Funai brand. Here is a list of Funai brands of tv's from their website: Funai, Symphonic, Sylvania, Emerson, Aventura, Durabrand, Esa, Magnavox, and Misakai. If you look at the yellow and white shipping label (towards the bottom if I remember correctly), it should say who the tv came from. I finally got fed up with WM and quit about a year and a half ago when LCD tv's were just starting to take off, so I can't tell you which of those to avoid.
igneous Posted November 12, 2007 Posted November 12, 2007 panasonic plasmas are no question the best tvs you can buy. The only better tv out there would be the pioneer elite plasmas, but they are so expensive they arent worth it for most people. Look at any of the tv forums, or tv reviews and you'll hear the same thing.
mamapenguin Posted November 12, 2007 Posted November 12, 2007 I like my Vizio. My daughter is watching Surfs Up on Blue Ray right now & it's beautiful. I will by another Vizio for my girls when I see the right price.
bdornon Posted November 12, 2007 Posted November 12, 2007 I have a sony "vega" and I m very happy with it. Two of my friends have bought other brands cant rember which. But after watching my tv said they wished they would have bought one like mine
projectorsrule Posted November 13, 2007 Posted November 13, 2007 As a home theater writer for 7 years. from what Walmart has I'd go Samsung or Philips.
ObiRich Posted November 13, 2007 Posted November 13, 2007 I really like my 50" LG plasma. Saw it compared in the store with every major brand, and it has the best picture of all of them except the Pioneer Elite, especially with SD channels (which 90% of TV still is).
labnpei Posted November 13, 2007 Posted November 13, 2007 hi, i have a 6 year old sony that has a beautiful picture-a one year old samsung that is great with hd broadcasts but not too good with standard def and a old zenith which ahs a nice picture. trouble free on all of them so far
trpleee Posted November 13, 2007 Posted November 13, 2007 "Best" really depends on what type. If you pick up a copy of Consumer Reports from this month you'll see the TV's ranked by Plasma, LCD, and DLP. With some exceptions, Sony's and Samsung's are ranked highest. For a good cheaper set, Vizio is good. But, you should read the reviews. If you like a TV - copy the set name/model # and go to a place like Amazon or Crutchfield and read reviews on it, best way to get a good idea from actual users.
Guest rhymingnames Posted November 13, 2007 Posted November 13, 2007 The worst, in my opinion, would have to be the RCA brand. A few years ago, while in college, Wally world had their 27" RCA for only 199, and we picked one up. After having the TV for 2 months it just died...no warning! Thank God, I kept my receipt. I opted to exchange it for another one, hoping that we just got a bad TV, but we were wrong. The other RCA lasted about a year, and it blurs up on certain programs. There is not an authorized RCA repairperson in our area. On the upside, we have a Magnavox, in one of our spare rooms, which is 16 years old, and never had a problem with it. I am unsure if Philips-Magnavox brand still has good quality products. We also have a Dell in our living room, and WE love it. Plus my parents have a Sanyo in their living room and they love it. My dad says that the only issue is that if you cut the sound up to high, you hear static.
mommy2bugs Posted November 13, 2007 Posted November 13, 2007 Stay away from polaroid and ilo from walmart
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